"There is no sincerer love than the love of food" – George Bernard Shaw

You are out shopping at a massive shopping centre in the heart of KL. After visiting a few of your favourite stores in the morning, your tummy decides to make some noise and it’s time for a lunch break. But hang on, where do I go to eat? There’s just too many choices to choose from.

While searching for my destination for lunch, I stumbled upon Taste Enclave Classic which has been open in Pavilion KL since August 2014. At Taste Enclave Classic, you can find authentic hawker fare and the difference with Taste Enclave at Avenue K is that you get table service so you are seated by the staff, they take your order after perusing the menu and they serve you. Oh and there is no need to walk around during the peak lunch hour to search for a vacant table too.

There is a variety of hawker fares that you can choose from whether you feel like having hokkien mee, bak kut teh, claypot chicken rice and more. You name it.

Mum had the Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee (RM12.90). I had a taste of it and it was delicious with plenty of “wok hei”. Wok Hei in English means “work thermal radiation” or “breath of the wok” which refers to the flavours imparted by a hot wok on food during stir frying. The noodles are also drenched in thick, black gravy topped with prawns, fish cakes and crispy fried pork lard. It was quite authentic.

Charcoal Fried Hokkien Mee

For me, I had the Kampung Chicken Rice Set (RM17.80). I must have been really hungry to start off with but at the end, I was very full. The chicken was tender and juicy, complementing well with the aromatic and fragrant chicken rice. If you are very hungry, I recommend you the Kampung Chicken Rice Set as it is definitely value for money.

Kampung Chicken Rice Set

Mum and I had a very filling lunch and we were ready and well fueled to continue our shopping trip around Pavilion. The service at Taste Enclave Classic is also very attentive and friendly. I would also say that prices here are a bit higher than normal food court or hawker stalls. Taste Enclave Classic is one place where one can dine comfortably and indulge in hawker’s fare air conditioned with a lovely ambiance.

Recently, V Burger Bar introduced two new burgers and a side as a part of their Summer Selections. They are the Chicken Remoulade Burger, the Spanish-AG and the Chicken Gems.

During my visit, I had the chicken remoulade burger ($14.50) which comprises of crumbed chicken and coriander patty, mix lettuce, tomato, onion, with in house remoulade and aioli. Usually I would go for a beef burger but this time, I was excited to try something different. I enjoyed the Chicken Remoulade burger very much – it was delicious. The crumbed chicken and coriander patty was crisp on the outside and tender and juicy in the inside. The housemade remoulade itself was creamy and also gives a punch of flavour and acidity to the burger.

Chicken Remoulade Burger

We also shared the chicken gems ($10.50) which consists of crumbed coriander chicken bites with remoulade and spicy mayo dips. The chicken gems make a perfect snack at any time of the day. Like the patty from the chicken remoulade burger, there was a crunch with one bite from the crisp crumbed texture on the outside. The dips also complements well with the chicken gems. It’s hard to pick between the two of the dips as to which is my favourite but I guess that’s always up to individual preference. For me, I enjoyed them both.

Chicken Gems

If you are ever at V Burger Bar, I recommend you to give their summer selections a try as they are only there for a limited time. Lastly, I would like to thank V Burger Bar for sending me a $20 voucher to try their summer selections.

Carrying on from our previous foodie adventure at Harvest Espresso, Liju, Veng Li and I decided that our next foodie destination will be at Hylin, West Leederville. We have heard plenty of good reviews and have seen many photos of the food at Hylin on Instagram and yes, we were excited to try what Hylin has to offer. We arrived at 11.30am on a Wednesday and the cafe was not too busy (I heard that it can be busy on the weekends!). The atmosphere at Hylin is full of natural light and very airy with a lovely cool breeze coming in from the windows together with a casual and modern interior.

To start, we had some juices and smoothies which are freshly made at Hylin. We had the apple, orange and beetroot juice ($7.50), the acai smoothie ($8.50) and green juice ($7.50). The acai smoothie together with a blend of banana and strawberry was thick, sweet and creamy. The green juice comprises of a healthy mix of cucumber, celery, spinach, kale and green apple, guaranteed to give you a fresh start to a day. I enjoyed the apple, orange and beetroot juice and thought that it was very fresh and with punchy flavours.

From Left to Right: Apple Orange and Beetroot Juice, Acai Smoothie, Green Juice

Our Acai Bowl and Granola ($11) was the first to arrive which comprises of acai, banana, mixed berries, coconut water with kiwi fruit, strawberry and blueberry toppings. It was a bowl filled with yummy, fresh, colourful and healthy goodies. With one spoonful, all of us fell in love with the acai bowl and granola. Having this bowl for breakkie will definitely give you a sweet and fresh start to the day.

Acai Bowl and Granola

Next up was the Creamed Corn and Chorizo ($16.50) which comprises of fried egg, grilled chorizo, creamed corn, asparagus, chipotle sauce on ciabatta. This was also another hit on our table. The creamed corn was rich, creamy and flavoursome, complementing well with the other elements on the dish.

Creamed Corn and Chorizo

We shared a mushroom haloumi burger ($14.50) which consists of roasted field mushroom, thick cut grilled haloumi cheese, caramelised onions, char-grilled peppers and a side of slaw. If you love your mushrooms, you will love this burger which is bursting full of earthy delectable flavours combined with a soft, chewy texture from the haloumi. The side of slaw itself was fresh and filled with lots of acidity, making it a great complement together with the burger.

Mushroom Haloumi Burger

We also had the smoked bacon and roasted field mushroom ($16.50) which consists of smoked bacon, crushed pea, roasted field mushroom with rocket and grated parmesan cheese on ciabatta. This was another one of our favourites too. The star of the dish was the bacon which was smoked to perfection and deliciously juicy and tender. Oh, I have never tasted smoked bacon this good for a while! The crushed pea also adds a lovely of flavour to the dish.

Smoked Bacon and Roasted Field Mushroom

Apart from offering delicious food, the coffee at Hylin is also superb as the coffee beans comes from Fremantle’s famous Micrology Coffee Roasters. The service at Hylin was also very friendly and efficient. It is cleary without a doubt that Hylin is one of the best places to catch up with friends over food, coffee or a fresh juice or smoothie. Definitely the place to be!

During my recent trip back to KL, I visited Malaysia’s very first Magnum Cafe, located at the heart of Mid Valley Megamall. I have heard a lot about the hype and craze of Magnum Cafe from social media with long queues of customers looking forward to their customised ice cream when it first opened last year. When I was there, luckily, there was no queue and I was able to customise my ice cream pretty quickly.

There are two floors at Magnum Cafe. The ground floor is only for customising your very own Magnum ice cream and the first floor is for dine in, should you choose to have a meal. Apart from ice cream and desserts, the Magnum Cafe also serves savoury foods like snacks, soups and pastas.

I chose to customise my very own Magnum Ice Cream which costs RM9.90. There are four steps to customising your own Magnum ice cream which involves coating, topping, drizzling and setting. To start, you choose either a chocolate brownie or classic vanilla flavour. The second step is the fun part – you get to select up to three toppings from the classic, special and experimental range. There’s almonds, goji berries, dark chocolate pearls, freeze dried raspberries, rose petals, chilli flakes to assorted nuts, just to name a few. The world is your oyster – it’s completely up to you on how you want to customise your ice cream. Apparently, there are 250,000 possible combinations with the toppings available!

Choose from the range of toppings for your own customised ice cream!

The final look of your ice cream is determined by choosing from dark, milk or white chocolate drizzle. The last step involves resting the ice cream for two minutes for the chocolate to set. And voila, you have your very own customised Magnum Ice Cream which you can indulge in. Don’t forget to share it with your friends on social media.

My very own customised Magnum Ice Cream which comprises of a chocolate brownie ice cream with a milk chocolate coating topped with rose petals, gold nuggets and white and dark crunch pearls, finished with a drizzle of white chocolate

Still can’t decide? You can also choose from the many pre-designed Magnum from their menu which also costs RM9.90. Mum had the Sweet Fantasy which comprises of Chocolate Brownie ice cream, white chocolate with toppings of dried mango, goji berries and chocolate chip cookies, drizzled on top with dark chocolate.

If you happen to be at Mid Valley Megamall at KL shopping around, I recommend you to take a break from shopping and visit Magnum Cafe to get your ice cream fix. It was an enjoyable and interesting experience and I can’t wait to try the other possible combinations of toppings and flavours!

Recently, I was invited to the launch of Sunday sesh, PJ Sundays at Cott and Co Fish Bar at Cottesloe. Nothing beats sipping French Champagne, Perrier-Jouet while enjoying freshly shucked oysters overlooking the Indian Ocean at the end of the day with a beautiful sunset. During the event, we learnt about the history and extravagance of the French Champagne from Julien Marteau, champagne expert from House of Perrier-Jouet.

The champagne was lovely – it was light, bubbly, fruity and very easy to drink. It’s perfect for a warm summers day and as a celebratory drink. When pairing with food, the champagne complements best with seafood, especially oysters.Apart from sipping the Perrier-Jouet champagne and enjoying freshly shucked oysters, we were also treated to a range of delicious canapes that tantalised our tastebuds from the Cott and Co kitchen which makes a great match with the champagne.

I would like to thank Caitlin and Zara for the invitation to attend the launch of PJ Sundays at Cott and Co and Julien Marteau from the House of Perrier-Jouet for sharing his us about his passion for all things champagne. And also, to the team at Cott and Co for the delicious oysters and canapes.

While flipping through channels on Astro (Pay TV) in Malaysia, I stumbled across Food Network. During my free time in Malaysia, I love watching Asian Food Channel, Food Network and TLC. Coincidentally a short clip came up about Erawan and the prawns looks oh-so-amazing! I was drooling and immediately, I thought of visiting Erawan and giving it a go.

Erawan is tucked away in Kota Damansara and is named after the white elephant, a symbol of royalty. If you can see red doors which are hand-carved intricately then you are at the right place. We arrived and the restaurant was packed to the rafters but luckily, we were able to get ourselves a table without any booking and by walking in! Anan runs the restaurant together with his step brother and the man behind Erawan’s kitchen, Chef Trakool Yodsuk or also known as Chef Korn whose grandmother used to cook in the Thai Royal Palace where his culinary influences and inspirations come from. Chef Korn also holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing and Administration and was an artist. His acrylic paintings and art collections contributes to the interior of Erawan, giving an ornate sense of artistry and welcoming sense of home.

The awards received and magazine/newspaper features of Erawan. Oh and not forgetting, Chef Korn’s acrylic paintings on the walls!

We started off with Miang Kam (RM38). Miang Kam is a dish which consists of betel leaves served with varieties of condiments (purple onion, fresh green or red chilli, ginger, garlic, lime, roasted peanuts and dry shrimps). Each bite was very good and had an aromatic taste with hint of freshness.

Miang Kam

Tom Yum is one of the most popular soups in Thailand and it is one of my favourite soups. Tom Yum is not only delicious but it is good for health because it has immune boosting powers as a natural remedy to combat cold and flu viruses with the combination of herbs and spices. First, you can choose to have tom yum with fresh river prawn (RM68-RM120), Sea bass or Salmon (RM58-RM89), Chicken or Mushroom (RM38-RM58) and Prawn or Seafood (RM38-68). Next, choose between clear or thick soup. Last but not least, the level of spiciness from 1 to 3. Anan recommended Level 0.5 which was the entry level. My verdict? The tom yum soup is one of the best I have ever tasted but…..it was very spicy for entry level spiciness, which is what tom yum should be. With each spoonful of tom yum going into your mouth and down your throat to your belly, you will be singing “This Girl is on Fire”. If you love your chilli and have a good level of tolerance of spice, I dare you to go for 3 – not for the faint hearted.

Clear Tom Yum Soup

Next up, was the prawn with special sauce (RM120) where the fresh river prawns are deep fried and topped with special sauce. The prawn with special sauce is one of Erawan’s classic and popular dishes – it was even featured on Food Network! The prawns were huge and they were fresh, the meat itself was juicy and tender. And also not forgetting, the special sauce which was full of flavour that you wish you could drink the sauce too!

Prawn with Special Sauce

We also shared a boneless roasted duck curry (RM48), which comprises of sliced boneless roasted duck simmered with red curry sauce dressed with pineapple, cherry tomatoes, egg plants and green apple. The duck was tender and cooked to perfection and the red curry sauce was delicious and flavoursome with a hint of sweetness from the pineapple and green apple.

Bone Less Roasted Duck Curry

Next, was the vegetables with spicy sauce (RM48) which consists of stir fried vegetables (choose from long bean, chayote, petai, paku) with home made spicy shrimp paste sauce and prawns. We had the paku (fern) instead. Anan told us the reason why the vegetables were separated from the spicy sauce was so that the dish could cater to all kinds of levels of spice tolerance; should you choose to dip the vegetables a little bit in the sauce or mix them entirely, it’s all up to you. But I must say that the spicy sauce is really spicy and will definitely give you a chilli kick – a nice complement with the fresh vegetables on the side.

Vegetables with Spicy Sauce

A trip to a Thai restaurant is not complete without ordering the iconic Thub Tim Krob or Red Ruby Delight dessert (RM12). To this day, Chef Korn still squeezes coconut milk by hand and maintains the traditional way of using a scented candle for the coconut milk sauce and never buys ready-made coconut milk. The Red Ruby dessert consists of water chestnut coated with tapioca flour, served with homemade coconut sauce and sliced jackfruit. I think this Erawan’s Red Ruby is one of the best that I have ever had. It was not too sweet, refreshing and perfect on the dot.

We also shared a candied cassava (RM12) which is tapioca simmered with syrup until it absorbs and tender, topped with coconut cream. The candied cassava was lovely with a nice hint of sweetness which balances well with the coconut cream.

To complement our desserts, we had thai Coffee (RM9.80). The coffee was fragrant, aromatic and sweet – quite similar to the taste and texture of Vietnamese Coffee.

Thub Thim Krob

Candied Cassava

Thai Coffee

Bookings are highly recommended here and a pre-order of 1 day in advance is encouraged to prevent disappointments as some of the special Thai dishes is needed to be prepared in advance and some popular items on the menu might run out. Check out the menu here and you can always give them a call to pre-book the dishes.

I can’t wait to be back in Erawan and it’s one of the best Thai food in KL or maybe that I have ever had. The food is authentic, flavoursome and fit for a king. The service is also very friendly and efficient. I left Erawan with a copy of Chef Korn’s cookbook, Thai @ Home, feeling inspired to cook some of his dishes at home and I am already looking forward to be back to Erawan try the Foie Gras Fried Rice!

Recently, I was Invited by Lee the owner of Le Vietnam to sample the Turkey and Cranberry Banh Mi which is soon to join the range of Banh Mis offered by Le Vietnam. It has been a while since I was back to Le Vietnam and was excited to try the new Turkey and Cranberry Banh Mi.

The turkey and cranberry banh mi was delicious and fresh in flavour. There was a lovely combination of sweet and savoury flavours from the cranberry sauce and turkey, making it a great complement with each other. Feels like Christmas in a Banh Mi! The bread was top notch – soft and fluffy in the inside with a crusty outside giving you a crunch with every bite.

Turkey and Cranberry Banh Mi

Apart from having the turkey and cranberry banh mi, I also had the Steamed Minced Pork Bun, a Vietnamese style Pork Bun. The bun was light and fluffy on the outside and the minced pork filling was flavoursome. Together with the Sriracha sauce at the side, eating it together with the pork buns will give you a lovely chilli kick. I also ended up taking away four pork buns for my pre-BodyCombat fuel later that evening. To complement, the banh mi and steamed minced pork bun, I had a Vietnamese Coffee which was smooth, flavoursome and aromatic. It’s definitely one of the best Vietnamese Coffee in Perth!

Steamed Minced Pork Bun

Vietnamese Coffee

I would like to thank Lee for inviting us over to try out the new Turkey and Cranberry Banh Mi. I am sure that it will be a hit among customers. Oh and don’t forget to also check out the other banh mis offered at Le Vietnam. I hear their Coca-Cola Marinated Chicken Banh Mi is a hit too!